Showers in bathrooms or washing and showering systems in sports centers, hospitals and nursing homes are known It is very difficult to clean certain parts of the body, for example the back, especially when the muscles are stiff--even when using brushes with long handles--due to the many complicated turning and twisting body movements required to perform the task.
The goal of the invention is to provide an auxiliary apparatus which facilitates a washing of the entire body, while simultaneously being usable for massaging purposes.
This goal is attained with an apparatus having a vertically upright rotating brush roller in which the person moves into engagement with and turns in front of the brush roller for washing or massaging purposes, so that the tips of the rotating brush elements slide over the entire body.
It is preferable to mount the drive parts in a hollow water-tight sleeve and the roller brush near an outside wall of the sleeve, preferably in an outwardly opening groove in the sleeve. Above the brush roller and mainly along a portion of the upper edge of its outer periphery, there are arranged water-supplying members, while above its entire height and tangentially to its periphery there can be arranged jet nozzles for heated air for the purpose of accelerating the drying process.
The apparatus can be provided with control members for controlling the rotational speed of the brush roller and with valves and mixing valves for supplying of a variable temperatured water or air. A dry or moist whole body massage with a simultaneous cleaning and care is possible with the apparatus.
The bristles of the brush roller consist of plastic material, preferably nylon, which has proven to be very durable and hygienic, in particular with regard to the resistance to the growth of bacteria or the formation of fungi.